Rep. Young says native contractors hurt by Sect 811

Rep. Don Young, R-AK, is leading an effort to get answers from the Defense Dept. on the negative impacts on native contractors of Section 811 of the national defense bill of fiscal 2010.

Under Section 811, sole-source 8(a) Native American contracts over $20 million must go through a justification and approval process.

“While the measure was sold as a ‘good governance’ provision and did not prohibit or discourage the awarding of such contracts, this heightened scrutiny, not required for any other contractors, has had a chilling effect for contracts,” Young said in a statement. “I have repeatedly heard about the confusion, difficulty and damage this Act has caused to our native contractors.”

The 2015 consolidated spending bill required the DOD to examine Section 811.

More information: Rep. Young’s letter http://goo.gl/CZqOGQ

Defense acquisition bill raises SAP threshold

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-TX, introduced the Acquisition Reform Bill to improve DOD’s acquisition processes.

The bill would raise the simplified acquisition threshold to $500,000, from $100,000, and also seeks to cut red tape and streamline processes for defense procurements.

More information: Bill report http://goo.gl/QCzsQ4

IG hits Marine Corps in Nat’l Capital Region

The Marine Corps Regional Contracting Office-National Capital Region is not holding large prime contractors accountable for meeting small business subcontracting goals, a Defense Dept. Inspector General’s report found.

The IG said contracting officers did not ensure that large primes provided adequate subcontracting.

More information: http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/report_summary.cfm?id=6292

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